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Tuesday, 2 August 2016

PREPARING FOR YOUR AUDITION

A lot of aspiring actors have different ideas of what a real audition is. If you have never been to an audition before, you may be confused into thinking that you will be given parts of the actual script to read all the time.

Some casting directors may want you to read the SIDE from the actual script, others may just want to know your personality. It is also expected that you come with a prepared monologue. If a SIDE is made available ONLINE, then you are expected to study it, get the lines, build and get into the moment.

Casting directors vary in the things they are looking for and how they look for it. I will give you a few tips that will help you in preparing for an audition:

Find out as much as you can about the production and the producer/ director

Look for jobs they have done before if any.

Pick out your favorite scenes in their movies or any movie with a lot of emotional diversity.

Prepare that scene as your monologue. It is safer to pick monologues from material that the casting directors can identify with.

Look out for the SIDES: portion of a script provided for actors to use in an audition. This is not necessarily from the exact script that is going into production. It could be from an already existing movie. Learn it and give it your all.

Prepare your headshot and resume. Take it with you to the audition even if you have sent in a soft copy.

Get to the audition venue way ahead of time and relax. Go over your side and prepared monologue in your head and picture it. If you are late, chances are you will walk in there panting and looking very unserious. This raises a red flag for the casting director. You don't want to create an impression that you are not structured and time conscious.

Be friendly with the other aspiring actors who are coming for the same thing. You never know which of them will get a big part and be in a position to recommend you later.

When you are called, walk into the audition room with a lot of confidence and a big smile.

The casting directors are not your enemy regardless of how they may come across to you. Remember that they need people to act the roles so they have no reason to hate you.

Stand on the MARK that they have created because of the camera angle and position.

Be prepared to act with the camera as your co-actor in your scene. Some casting directors may read for you or get someone to do it. Most of the time they will want to see how creative and prepared you are. At that point they will tell you to listen to whoever is reading but not look at them. Your reactions, expressions and lines should be directly to the camera. So you have to act as if it's the camera talking to you.

Answer questions to the best of your ability and be as honest as you can.

Don't try to patronize them or seem like you are begging to get the part.

Be friendly and ask how they are doing.

Be willing to take criticisms because there is a reason why they are the ones sitting in the room and not you.

When you finish your audition you can ask politely if there was anything they thought you could have done better (if they don't give you any criticisms). When they tell you what they think, always say "Thank you very much. I appreciate it".

When it is finally over, try to make them feel appreciated. You can say "Thank you for the opportunity and good luck". It may not mean much at that time but trust me, someone will remember you.

They write notes on your headshot and resume especially about their experience with you. Your personality matters more to a lot of casting directors than just knowing all the lines because they need to know that it will not be a problem to work with you.

They also want to know how fast you can take corrections and how flexible you can be if they make changes to what you already prepared.

Smile when you walk in and smile when you are leaving.

You may not think you will have a call back at that moment, but most times, if something goes wrong with the person they have chosen, they will go through the headshots and find someone else who they feel they can take a chance on. If you made a good impact, they will remember you.

These are some of the basic things that will help you get through an audition. A lot goes into preparing for it, as this is the hardest phase of the whole production process. Trying to convince a few people that you are good enough to be in their production is more difficult than listening to the director and doing what he/she wants.